Are Radar Detectors Legal in the US and in which States are they Prohibited?

Nicola Kennedy

A good number of the people with cars in the United States have their own radar detectors. Their reason is that they feel that the speed limit at present is very low. Most of the American people are not satisfied with moderate speed while driving. They want to be the fastest driver on the road as well as get to the places they're going in record time; they want to be always in the race.

The radar detector serves as their alarm whenever there are police near them. Once the radar detector alarm sounds, they can ease on the gas and slow down their speed.

Because of the radar detectors being known to every motorist, cops are hiding, in alleyways or behind bridges in order to avoid being detected by the radar detectors.

Motorists on the other hand are being clever themselves, they are aware of these techniques from the police, so more enhanced, top-dollar detectors have entered the market.

Though the policemen are always improving their chances of catching the radar detector users, they are unable to make the streets of the United States radar detector-free.

Radar detectors are legal in many cities and states in the United States. But this does not mean that radar detector units are legal in all of the states in the US.

Here are some of the states that deem radar detectors illegal:

1. The usage of radar detectors are prohibited in the Commonwealth of Virginia. They have laws banning the use of radar detectors. Not only are radar detectors illegal to use in Virginia, they are also illegal to have in the vehicle.

2. Radar detectors and radar jammers are illegal in the District of Columbia. The passing of their laws to ban the use of radar detectors was set in 1995.

3. In Illinois, radar detectors are only regulated in commercial vehicles of over 26,001 pounds.

4. On US military bases, they are legal to have but illegal to use.

5. Radar jammers are illegal in the states of Utah, California, Oklahoma, Colorado and Nebraska.

6. Radar detectors are not specifically regulated, but things hanging from windshields are not permitted in the state of Minnesota.

7. For motor vehicles over 18,000 pounds and any other commercial motor vehicles over 10,000 pounds in New York, radar detectors are illegal.

The state of Connecticut on the contrary has cancelled its anti-radar detector law in 1998 which make this radar detector now legal in this state.